How to Get More Blog Comments

Written by admin on April 13, 2010 - 0 Comments
Categories: Blogging

Doesn’t it just bug you when you try to start a conversation and no one jumps in to help? That’s the way it is with blogging. You blog and blog and yet few, if any, people comment. It can make blogging feel like a futile effort. Well the truth of the matter is most of the people who read blogs, even if they read them on a regular basis, don’t comment. So what do you do? Here are a few ideas to generate conversation and get more blog comments.

#1 Ask a question. Many people don’t comment on blogs because there’s not much to say. The old, “Thanks for the information.” Becomes tired and feels unproductive most of the time. Unless you can actually contribute feedback or answer a question then what’s the point of commenting? So ask your readers to get involved, ask them a question.

#2 When people comment, ALWAYS respond to their comment and…ask a question. When subsequent reader see a dialogue going on they’re more likely to chime in and participate. This really works! Engage your commenter’s, they’ll become more active on your blog and you’ll draw others into the conversation.

#3 Leave something out. Depending on your readers, many times if you leave something out of your post, someone is going to feel compelled to let you know or to share the information. Of course once they do, go back to #2 and acknowledge their input and ask a question – get a dialogue going.

#4 Make it easy to comment. Generally, this requires skipping many of the hoops people have to jump through to comment, like logging in. This is a personal decision for you as a business owner because of SPAM issues, there are other ways to manage your comments.

#5 Some bloggers have found great success by letting people edit their comments. This has its benefits and drawbacks. You certainly don’t want someone to go in and later delete their comment however, it may motivate others to comment if they know they can edit themselves.

#6 Check out a few blogging widgets and plug-ins. There are many plug-ins that enhance the user experience like CommentLuv and the ability to subscribe to a blog post’s comments so you can actively participate in a conversation without having to stay on the page.

#7 Let readers create a profile that links back to their website. Yes, this is a double edged sword because you’ll undoubtedly get the comments saying “thank you for the post” simply so they can generate a link to their site but it does promote commenting and you can always block the folks who abuse the system.

#8 Pay attention to the posts people comment on. You may notice your audience has a preference for a certain topic or type of post. Tracking this information can help you generate a more active, and potentially useful, blog.

Remember that it takes some time to cultivate a following on any website or blog. Continue the strategies and tactics you’re using that are effectively driving traffic to your blog and try to utilize some of these points for getting more blog comments. As always, pay attention to what works for your audience and make the most of it!